Affordable On Local Terms

It’s good to see that the City Council and Mayor Bill de Blasio were willing to listen to concerns on the mayor’s affordable rezoning plan.

Mandatory Inclusionary Housing and Zoning for Quality and Affordability has hit a number of road blocks along the way, mainly from civic leaders, but also from political leaders like Borough President Melinda Katz. At issue is the fact that the plan does not address affordability in local terms, instead relying on one formula citywide.

As we said before, this is nuts.

With the City Council prepared to vote on MIH and ZQA next week, the fact that they were able to reach a deal concerning affordability that applies to Flushing West is a great step.

The mayor and the City Council need to work out a better plan for addressing the differences throughout the city on what is affordable. This city, and this borough, is not only diverse ethnically. It is also diverse economically. What is affordable in Flushing is certainly not affordable in Jamaica. Long Island City is a very different place than Jackson Heights or Briarwood. City Hall needs to recognize that, or this affordable housing plan will be a complete failure and a stain in de Blasio’s progressive legacy.